Volaticotherium antiquus was an ancient gliding mammal not closely related to any other mammalian group currently known. It had a gliding membrane similar to a modern-day flying squirrel. The teeth of Volaticotherium were highly specialized for eating insects, and its limbs were adapted to living in trees. The gliding membrane (patagium) was insulated by a thick covering of fur, and was supported by the limbs as well as the tail. The discovery of Volaticotherium provided the earliest-known record of a gliding mammal (70 million years older than the next oldest example), and provided further evidence of mammalian diversity during the Mesozoic Era.